resources

On The Blog Market in May + a Reader Survey

05/29/2015 by Jennifer Leave a Comment

Hope you all have been enjoying the month of May! Since I’ve been splitting my time between here and The Blog Market, I thought it’d be cool to share my favorite posts of the month with you. If you haven’t been following along on TBM, I’ll update you a little on how it’s been going! We have long since removed the community forums from the site. I loved the idea of it but the reality was just not what we had hoped. It was a little glitchy and to be honest, we just weren’t taking enough time to keep it running. Without the forums, we have still been able to engage in so much community and we’ve connected with a ton of awesome readers and bloggers. I love how blogging is such a great means of communicating knowledge and general enthusiasm for creativity.

1. Angela wrote a thought-provoking post about creativity and building a brand. We are really obsessed with this quote. I feel like it’s a very prevalent struggle in the blogosphere.

2. I rounded up 6 favorite WordPress plugins related to social media! Some of them I’ve been using forever and others I am just beginning to explore.

3. This month I finally added share buttons to the bottom of posts in both Earl Grey and TBM! I wrote this post on how to customize your WordPress Jetpack sharing buttons using CSS to make them mesh well with your brand.

4. Have you been following Angela’s series on creating a DIY at-home photo studio? She finished it up this month and it is SO helpful.

A couple of other things…

As a way to build community and promote some blogs and small businesses we think are amazing, we have decided to offer sidebar ad spots. They are just a simple $10 each. Since we are still a growing blog, we’re making our advertising process cheap and to the point. If you want a little extra traffic your way, view our ad shop!

Finally, we are currently holding a reader survey to get a better idea of what people in the blog and design world really want. I would love it if you guys would fill it out! We’re opening an online shop this summer and so far this survey has been really helpful in helping us develop our products better. If you complete the survey, you can leave your email on the original post for a chance to win a free sidebar ad.

Have a good weekend & talk to you soon!

Resources for Bloggers

10/15/2014 by Jennifer 3 Comments

Hey there! Here are some blog resources from some of my favorite bloggers. Hopefully these helpful articles can inspire us to get creative and make the most of the week.

1. Melyssa from The Nectar Collective recently wrote about how to grow your blog or business using Twitter. I used to use Twitter solely for ~~funny~~ lame jokes, but now I use it for Earl Grey purposes too (here’s my account btw if you want to be friends!). However, Twitter is not my specialty. I always forget I even have it. This article was helpful in reminding me that there are simple ways to be active as a blogger on Twitter. Woohoo! Thanks Melyssa!

2. Oh, Writer’s Block. Always getting me down. I absolutely love this post on beating writer’s block by Jess of Stamp in my Passport. She shares three helpful and genuine ways to reconnect with yourself and get over that dang lack of inspiration.

3. Last month on Ember & March, Amber shared about the difference between growing your blog and gaining a following. She notes that both are a little necessary and touches on the importance of authenticity. I couldn’t agree with her more.

4. Jess at June Letters wrote a beautiful post about allowing yourself to be a beginner. What a good reminder. It is so important to remember that everything takes practice and that we shouldn’t set so many unrealistic expectations on ourselves.

Have you been focusing on or learning anything in particular lately?

Resources for Bloggers

09/17/2014 by Jennifer 8 Comments

Another week, another list of resources I love!

(clockwise from top left)

-Here’s a great article by Flourish & Prosper about why bloggers shouldn’t expect to work for free. Go read it and pat yourself on the back for working so hard in Blogland (also, I should teach Kindergarten).

– I’m a little obsessed with Amber’s “Five Minute Disconnect” plan at Ember & March.

– Lisa Jacobs of Market Your Creativity recently shared 5 Must-Have Apps for Bloggers! Excited to try them out.

– Want to know how to write the perfect blog post? I do! I found this gem of a post in the archives of Noor Alqahtani’s blog. So much useful information. I’m especially happy that she mentions the secret pin board. Secret pin boards are my everything.

Lastly, Katie of Skunkboy Blog wrote this honest post about focusing on self-love, saying no, and ultimately applying less pressure to certain areas of life. It’s easy to get burnt out in this world no matter what you do on a daily basis. I love her perspective.

Have a bright summery day. Because like I said yesterday, it’s definitely still summer. :)

Resources for Bloggers

09/03/2014 by Jennifer 7 Comments

It’s been a few weeks since my last official “resources for bloggers” post, but I’ve been gathering these gems up just as well! I have been learning that experiencing growth in the blog world is part technical and part personal. As with any hobby or career, being confident in your work or interests makes a big difference to how your work is perceived. More importantly, making sure you truly love what you are doing (I wrote about that here) will allow you to grow in so many significant ways.

A few weeks ago, I read Emma’s 5 Secrets to Success on A Beautiful Mess and I should probably read it once a month for the rest of my life. This post is filled with genuine encouragement and non-fluffy truth. I’m all about the non-fluffy stuff if you know what I mean.

I have read many posts on SEO (Search Engine Optimization) but this article by Taylor at The Fresh Exchange is my very favorite! She shares a lot of excellent tips as well as extra resources for bloggers who want to better utilize SEO.

Jess at June Letters has an amazing series called “Freelance Wisdom“. Although I am not an established freelancer, I’m definitely taking in all of this advice as it relates to creatives in general. I love the snippet of wisdom below from Julia Kostreva.

Finally, I’m so appreciative of this post by Meredith C. Bullock on being too busy to blog. She shares that it’s okay to take a break from blogging if you need to tackle larger projects (or rest!). There are still alternative ways to connect with your readers and potential clients.

I hope these four blog posts help you as much as they’ve helped me!

How to Edit Photos with RadLab + a Discount Code!

08/20/2014 by Jennifer 2 Comments

Today I want to share a little piece of magic with you. It’s called RadLab. You have probably noticed that there are thousands of Photoshop plugins, actions, and presets available to purchase and download. Out of all the photo-editing methods I’ve tried, I have found this Photoshop plugin by Totally Rad to be the most fantastic one. I have been using RadLab consistently for the past two years and it has made my photo editing process all the more fun and exciting.

RadLab isn’t an “action”, it’s a Photoshop filter plugin. It is advertised as being simpler, quicker, and more customizable than actions. I couldn’t agree with that more. Here’s a basic rundown of how it works:

After you’ve downloaded RadLab (take advantage of the free trial!), open up a photo in Photoshop. This plugin works just fine with Photoshop Elements, too.

In your main menu, select Filter > Totally Rad > RadLab. You’ll see that RadLab is full of “stylets” which can be controlled and customized to produce different effects. Together, the stylets you choose will make up a “recipe”, which can be saved and used in the future.

When I edit my photos with RadLab, I almost always use the “Lights On”, “Oh Snap!”, and “Claire-ify” tools at varying levels. If I’m feeling adventurous, I will experiment with different filters. Looking at the filters in the screenshot above, you might think some of them are too intense for natural-looking photographs. The beauty of RadLab is that you have complete control over the intensity of each filter. While editing this photo of Sara, I thought I would stop after my usual routine, but I ended up finding that a couple of the bolder filters (at low levels) made the photo look a little more whimsical and summery. Below, you can see a split before/after comparison of the photo. “Butter Pecan” and “Fuzzy Navel” did nice work! Oh and did I mention that all of the stylets have really awesome names? They do. :)

Being able to save combined stylets as recipes provides helpful consistency when I’m editing a handful of photos from the same location. It also just makes the photo-editing experience more unique! No one is going to say, “Oh hey, I see you used the ‘_______’ filter.” You can make one of a kind recipes, save them, share them, and use them again.

Do you use RadLab, or any other Totally Rad products? I love that they offer such a range of photo editing resources. Maybe I’ll share my specific recipes from time to time!

ps. Totally Rad is offering Earl Grey readers 15% off of any purchase for the next two weeks (until September 3rd). Use the code “HARDWICK” to apply the coupon. :)

My Personal Rules for Blogging

08/15/2014 by Jennifer 24 Comments

In the blogging world, many pieces of advice are relative. What works for one person may not work for another. There are several factors to take into consideration including focus, goals, audience, etc. But I truly believe that no matter what kind of blog you have, there are few personal changes that can make anybody a happier blogger. Today, I want to share three “rules” I have been trying to live by.

1. Talk about your blog in real life.

I used to tell people about my blog as a very last resort. I would dance around the subject and mumble things about crafts when I should have just said, “I’m working on my blog.” Depending on what kind of area you live in, half the people you talk to to might be completely perplexed. They might even bring up “weblogging”. ;) But the more you tell people about your blog, the more you’ll hear people say, “I have a blog too!” And suddenly, you will have a real life blog friend. Piece of cake.

Recently, I have been challenging myself to talk about my blog here in Portland. Already, I have made a few friends at work who are also bloggers! It’s crazy and wonderful how one mention of blogging can spark a conversation and connect you to someone who may also be keeping their blog on the DL. When you talk about your blog enough, I promise that blogger coffee dates will be abounding.

2. Do not try to be passionate about something you’re not passionate about.

Think about something that is really cool right now. Pineapples? Everyone is so into pineapples. I personally only like pineapples on my pizza. But I keep looking at this pineapple patterned cardigan at Target and feeling like maybe I should have it. I genuinely think it’s adorable but I also know that I’ve been strongly influenced by the interwebs. Trends come and go every season and I fall under their spell every time. Say no to pineapples if deep down you want to say no to them.

Here is a more personal example: In high school and college, I was always the crafty girl. That was my thing. But as I said the other day in this post, I’m not too inspired in the crafty arena these days. It’s a bummer because I know people like DIY projects. But slightly changing the direction of my blog toward what I’m more passionate about has been so rewarding and has resulted in more growth than I expected.

3. Try not to minimize your statements or discredit yourself.

Through my psychology classes, I learned a lot about minimizing statements and I realized that I did this (and still do this) a lot! There is a big difference between being humble and being self-deprecating. I believe you can be humble and be happy for yourself at the same time. Here are some examples of minimizing statements (and alternatives) as they relate to blogging:

“I know I’m no expert at all, but today I want to talk about staying motivated as a blogger.”
(Today I want to talk about motivation. These are a few significant things I have learned through my experience as a blogger.)

“It’s super cliche and unoriginal, but I feel most inspired when I’m at a coffee shop writing in a fresh new notebook.”
(There’s nothing like a fresh new notebook and a coffee shop to make me feel inspired.)

“I just love web design. I don’t know, I’m so nerdy!!”
(I love web design!)

I literally said that last quote word for word the other night and my coworkers replied, “No you’re not, that’s so badass!” So…do your thing. Love what you want to love. Do what inspires you. Most importantly, stop putting yourself down. :)

Have any of these issues been relevant in your blogging experience? I’d also love to know how you go about bringing up your blog in the real world.

Thanks for letting me share!